Former Plymouth Hill Condominiums secretary jailed for theft

COURTHOUSE — Patricia Paugh, the former secretary and bookkeeper of the Plymouth Hill Condominiums, was sentenced to 9 to 23 months in the county prison Wednesday by President Judge William J. Furber Jr.

In his closing remarks, Furber expressed a mix of sympathy and sternness in sentencing Paugh, who was charged with bilking the Plymouth Hill Condominium Association of about $30,000 over several years.

Furber said he gave Paugh a sentence within the median guidelines but could have gone higher because of the nature of the felony. He also orders Paugh to pay $38,098 in restitution.

Furber said Paugh, 55, cooperated “substantially” with prosecutors as they went after the scheme’s ringleader, Vincent Lopez, the former general manager of the property. Lopez hired Paugh in 1997 and gradually began cutting her checks from the condo association. Eventually the checks numbered 27.

Lopez pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in state prison several months ago.

“You may have been a target for Lopez, but somewhere along the line you knew something was wrong. You betrayed a lot of people here,” said the judge.

Taking the witness stand for the final time in her defense, a tearful Paugh described a life embattled with drug addiction, mental illness and dependency.

“Mr. Lopez gave me a chance. He took me under his wing. I loved my home. I loved my job, and I didn’t know what to do,” she said. “He gave me a check. It said Plymouth Hill on it, and I didn’t question it. I didn’t say anything because I was very loyal to my boss.”

Assistant District Attorney Sophia Polites called several witnesses in the courtroom from Plymouth Hill to give victim impact statements before sentencing.

Suzanne Hayes, a Plymouth Hill resident, said she felt betrayed, inconvenienced and disappointed in the woman she thought was her friend.

“She lives in her own prison, and she has for some time,” Hayes said. “I believe she has not had an easy life. I believe she suffers on a daily basis.”

Carol Graham, president of Plymouth Hill Council, which oversees the condo association, testified that Paugh “destroyed my faith in the ability to know people.”

“She is a liar, a thief, and I will never forgive her,” Graham said.

Defense attorney Richard Tompkins said his client has been taking medication for bipolar and panic disorder for many years, both before and during her tenure at Plymouth Hill.